On Mon, 16 Jun 2003 19:45:16 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

Is there some reason why composting can't be done on smaller scales?

Of course not.

Most of the solutions are in large barrels or fenced in squares. I
can't do piles...no lawn and the small area I have is surrounded by
neighbor's with kids playing in yard. I wouldn't want a rotting pile
there.

No place at all to collect organic debris? My neighbor just bought a
plastic bin about 18" square and 2' high. If it doesn't bother you
aesthetically, you can just shlump stuff in a pile on the ground. In
spite of much advice about ideal mix of materials, rotating, fluffing,
tending, confining, etc. (which is perfectly true for perfect,
fast-cooking, hot compost), Stuff Rots on its own. A "rotting pile"
isn't a bad thing, nor is it any particular danger to children. With
strictly veg and soil debris, I've never noticed *any* odor beyond the
1 or 2 days it takes for a canteloupe rind to lost its glow. :-)

And I really can't use that much. With about 24 sq ft of garden
space...using 2 inches I would need 4 cu ft per year at most! At Home
Depot that would cost me about $14-$15. SOme compact solutions cost
$100-150. It would take me 6-8 years just to break even. But even the
smallest is big for me.

The material shrinks/breaks down considerably, of course, and unless
you're adding grass clippings from a meadow or leaves from an oak
forest, there's little possibility of producing too much to use.
Compost, of course, continues to break down and be diminished in the
garden, and is almost always a happy addition to the soil. 6-8 years
is archaeology, not compost. You'd be amazed at how fast an orange
rind disappears.

expense -- It just about kills me to see TV cooks throwing their
veg peelings and whatnot into a trash bin. We produce *free* soil
ammendments every day. I keep an open, about 2qt plastic bowl on my
kitchen counter for veg scraps, and empty it every 2-3 days onto The
Pile. Except when I make a batch of gazpacho, which pretty much fills
the bown with leftovers from tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and celery.
You don't need an expensive "system" to brew compost, either. See:

http://www.nyccompost.org/how/smallspace.html

I also live alone and I'm not sure how much
variety I can introduce into the pile without begging friends to save
stinky bags of rotting things I don't eat (like bananas).

First too much, and then not enough. :-) If you eat out most of the
time, and never have potato peelings, tomato skins & seeds, cabbage
leaves, melon rinds, onion skins and tops, coffee grounds, used tea
bags or leaves, egg shells, or any leaves or grass clippings or bush
prunings, by all means stop at K-Mart for a bag of compost and dig it
in.

However, even a single person who eats *any* fresh veg & fruit
generates a fair amount of trimmings. "Rotting veg" in the bottom of
your 'fridge's crisper is indeed icky, but once it's outside
(preferably *before* it slimes your kitchen), it's the basis for black
gold for your garden. With plenty of air circulation and tiny critter
tidying, it's a wholesome, relatively odor-free process that keeps a
lot of stuff out of the landfill, and soon ready to benefit your
garden in a happy, productive, low-waste, no-cost cycle.


Compost, for the most part, provides little nutrients to plants, but
it vastly improves almost any soil, evening out wet/dry conditions and
making the dirt easier for plant roots to wander around in. Composted
(animal) manure has more nutrients, and is also a good soil
ammendment. Lacking a cow or friends with farms, I have to buy mine.
Doesn't keep me from composting those tired lettuce leaves, 'though.